“I don’t have time to sketch—there’s so much I want to capture on my trip.”

I’ve heard this many times. Most of the time, we rush from place to place, frantically taking photos without really thinking about what we’re capturing. The idea is simple: take as many photos as possible, and later we’ll scroll through them to relive the moments. We assume photos will preserve our memories.

But that’s exactly why it’s worth slowing down. Sitting somewhere, observing, and translating a place into your own sketchbook.With a few lines, shapes, and colours, a sketch captures far more than an image. It absorbs the atmosphere, the sounds, the smells, the temperature, the movement of people. It holds the feeling of being there. It’s about presence.

The moment you start sketching, your priorities shift. Your attention locks onto what’s in front of you. You become aware and fully engaged with your surroundings. You begin to notice relationships: proportions, angles, colours, light, and shadow. You don’t just look, you actually see. You might even get up, walk closer, study a detail, and return to your spot with a better understanding of what you’re drawing.

Of course, time is always limited. You’re surrounded by an overwhelming amount of details, and you can’t capture everything. So you make choices. You simplify. You decide what matters.That’s where the real skill develops: choosing what to emphasize, what to leave out, how to balance light and shadow, which colours to push forward and which to hold back. Sketching forces you to interpret, not just record.

Long story short, a photo shows you or other people where you were.
A sketch shows how you experienced it.